Capacity Building of Financial Technologies in Palestine by Laith - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Capacity Building of Financial Technologies in Palestine by Laith Kassis LaithKassis@gmail.com The Information and Communication Technology Center (ICTC) at Al-Quds Open University holds its 12 th annual ICT Day, entitled “Financial Technology “Fintech” on Nov 29, 2018, at Grand Park Hotels, Rafat Street, Al-Masyoun Heights, Ramallah.

Laith Kassis Laith Kassis Palestinian / Australian. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, USA and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. Laith advocated, wrote the concept notes and championed the development of the first Techno Park at Birzeit University and managed its program operations and construction. Laith has also championed the business and technology incubation industry. Laith is also the co-founder of RuWWad.ME and EnterVentures providing consultancy, mentoring and capacity building to entrepreneurial ventures while validating a business model for a soft-turret phone technology app. He also provides wide array of information technology project management services, market surveys and export strategies. Prior to that, his relevant experience was in managing the Palestine IT Association (PITA) of companies and the PICTI incubator. His leadership had a direct impact on developing the entrepreneurial sector; promote start-up companies and culture. He also contributed to the growth of the ICT sector through promoting multinational R&D projects, outsourcing and investments. He is an early supporter for the development of seed and venture capital creation in Palestine. His customized technology entrepreneurship education material is widely used by local and regional accelerators in the MENA region. Regionally, Laith has participated in the formation of the MENA Network of Incubators as its Vice President and has consulted with the World Bank infoDev program to promote high-growth entrepreneurship eco-systems in the MENA region and conduct business incubation management training.

• Why FinTech Capacity Building is Important

A REPOR T BY FINTECH IN MENA Unbundling the financial services industry #stateoffintech

- THE GLOBAL FINTECH REVOLUTION FINTECH 5 - WHA T IS FINTECH? Financial technology describes tech- enabled products and services that improve traditional financial services. They are faster, cheaper, more convenient or more accessible. In most cases they are developed by startups. Startups are young companies that attempt to scale by creating new markets FINTECH or by gaining a significant share in established markets through a better value proposition. Hence, fintech startups are young, small companies that promise to significantly improve the way individuals and companies bank by collaborating or competing with established financial service providers.

- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 - The fintech (financial technology) sector is rising globally, and has already arrived in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In fact, the number of startups offering financial services in the region doubled from 46 to 105 in the last three years (2013-15). Fintech startups have sprung up in 12 Arab countries, yet 3 in 4 startups are based in the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan or Egypt. The UAE is the most dynamic hub with a 4-year CAGR of 60% almost 60%, and payments are the most popular sector , accounting for half of all MENA-based fintech startups. The rise of fintech in MENA is driven by four opportunities: 86% of adults don’t have a bank account, and SME lending stands at half of the global average; at the same time, the volume of ecommerce is set to quadruple over five years, and 1 in 2 bank customers is interested in new digital services. 86% Declining customer loyalty is not necessarily bad news for banks though: the three main obstacles for fintech startups are visibility, customer education, and trust . This is why almost 9 in 10 fintech startups seek collaborations with corporations, and banks are well positioned to integrate into the growing fintech ecosystem. MENA’s fintech startups provide a wide range of services to private, corporate and governmental partners. The most mature sector, payments, includes startups offering bill payment, mobile and online payment solutions as well as wallets. Payment service providers (PSP) have sprung up as well, integrating a variety of services into a platform. Lending startups include crowdfunding, money circle, peer lending and loan comparison platforms. Finally, second wave startups specialize in international money transfer, wealth management, insurance solutions and blockchain-based services such as cryptocurrencies.

- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 - The core challenges reported by MENA’s fintech entrepreneurs concern regulations, hiring and retaining talent, as well as raising investments. 1 in 4 fintech startups shut down, and only 10% account for the majority of investment and employees. Taking a closer look, positive dynamics seem to improve all of the three challenges. A variety of reforms and new regulations point to increased awareness on a policy maker level. The launch of the region’s first fintech sandbox in the UAE and the new mobile money regulations in Egypt are two recent examples of this new commitment. Professionals drop out to launch startups. The average fintech entrepreneur is a male university graduate in his late 20s or early 30s, with experience abroad. 4 in 5 startups have at least one cofounder with prior work experience in a financial services company. In total, MENA-based fintech startups employ over 1,600 people in MENA. Only 1 in 4 fintech startups went through an accelerator, yet 2016 added two fintech accelerators and a to the ecosystem. From 5 startups, 2 already collaborate with banks and another 2 aim to do so in the near future, and 7 other industries have been mentioned as attractive partners, namely telecom, ecommerce, retail, media, insurance, logistics and aviation. MENA’s fintech startups raised $100 millions over the last decade. Pointing to a sharp increase of funding activity, around $50 millions in investments are expected for 2017. This is mainly driven by a significant increase in Series A, B and C deals up from an average of 30% in the past to 65% moving forward. Fintech is poised for greater visibility by 2020. With the payment sector showing early signs of consolidation especially in the GCC region, it can be expected that second wave startups enter the game wherever fintech gains a foothold. In total, we project around 250 fintech startup launches by 2020. Their failure rate can be lowered, their market share can grow faster and job creation can increase. Unlocking a virtuous cycle requires governments to step in and provide the foundations on which entrepreneurs, investors and customers democratize financial services. An alliance of policymakers, investors, innovative corporations and entrepreneurs can place the UAE among Asia’s most promising fintech hubs. Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt stand good chances to become hubs for fintech as well.

- THE GLOBAL FINTECH REVOLUTION FINTECH 8 - WHAT IS HAPPENING GLOBALLY? Innovation in finance picked up later than it did in media, retail or communication. However , since 2010 thousands of fintech startups have raised over $63 billions around the globe (Fig. 1). Figure 1 | Global investments in fintech ventures (in USD million, 2010-July2016) 22.3 16.1 12.7 4.6 3.2 2.5 1.8 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 July 2016 Asia Rest ofWorld Source: Accenture analysis of CB Insights,2016

- THE GLOBAL FINTECH REVOLUTION FINTECH 9 - Between 2010 and 2014, the rise of fintech investments was driven mainly by three hubs - Silicon Valley, New York City, and London. However, while the US still accounted for over 50 percent of all fintech investments in 2015, Asia's share had tripled from 6 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2015. In fact, all regions of the world now fall into one out of three stages of the fintech cycle: frontier, emerging, and developed fintech ecosystems. (Fig.2). FRONTIER EMERGING DEVELOPED In a frontier ecosystem, the vast majority of In the emerging ecosystem, a first cohort of Finally, developed ecosystems reach fintech startups are still in the idea and early high-growth fintech startups captures saturation. Fewer but significantly larger deals stage. Funding is slowly picking up as significant customer bases, fueling three-digit are centered around high value companies entrepreneurs maneuver with little support annual investment growth rates and and unicorns. Hence, year-on year growth of around regulations, customer acquisition, and increasing the strategic imperative for investments is slowing down. Today, only the partnerships. incumbents to engage with the newcomers. first-movers have reached this stage namely the USA and parts of Europe with their globally leading fintech hubs. Figure 2 | Regional growth in fintech investments (in percent, July 2015– June 2016) SOUTH AMERICA USA SEA AUSTRALIA AFRICA EUROPE MIDDLE EAST INDIA CHINA 265% 44% 50% 343% 82% 55% 71% 30% 252% BERLIN LONDON SILICONVALLEY NEWYORK HONG DUBAI KONG ABUDHABI SINGAPORE SYDNEY Frontier Emerging Developed Fintechhub Sandbox Source: IC Dowson and William Garrity Associates, EY,TechCrunch

FinTech Landscape – Disruptive Forces in Global Financial services Source: EverisDigital